Franchise LT's almost never get to FA, they are franchised almost every time, so you can forget Jake Long.

Franchising Jake Long is completely and utterly out of the question. It would have to be 125% of his salary from last year, which was the final year of his pre-rookie draft cap #1 overall pick deal. It'd be more than QB money for a guy in decline.

Franchise LT's almost never get to FA, they are franchised almost every time, so you can forget Jake Long.

I would be willing to bet that Long hits the market. His play has dipped recently and he has been injured quite a bit. It all depends on where he goes though. Some team will throw money at him and I wouldn't be surprised to see it being Arizona. Long and an improving Massie is a lot better than Baptiste and Massie right now

How bout Ryan Mallett? The only reason he wasn't a 1st round pick was off the field concerns. He's kept it clean for two years in New England. Even though he hasn't played in reg. season. In theory, he's learned a complex NFL offense. He's got the arm to get the ball downfield. Allows the Cards to use their 1st rounder and free agency $$$ on the OL. Cost. A 2nd this year, and a conditional pick next year dependent on how much he plays and whether or not his team makes the playoffs.

Brady seems to want to keep playing. I doubt if he wants to hang it up in two years. Pats won't be able to tag a backup qb.

How bout Ryan Mallett? The only reason he wasn't a 1st round pick was off the field concerns. He's kept it clean for two years in New England. Even though he hasn't played in reg. season. In theory, he's learned a complex NFL offense. He's got the arm to get the ball downfield. Allows the Cards to use their 1st rounder and free agency $$$ on the OL. Cost. A 2nd this year, and a conditional pick next year dependent on how much he plays and whether or not his team makes the playoffs.

Brady seems to want to keep playing. I doubt if he wants to hang it up in two years. Pats won't be able to tag a backup qb.

I think with the Kevin Kolb thing so fresh the Cardinals are probably understandably wary of making the same move again. Especially when Mallett hasn't exactly been dominant in the preseason, and has an even smaller pro resume than Kolb. Plus, if BB thinks that Mallett is a future starter in this league he won't let him go for a 2nd round pick.

I think seeing how well the rest of Arizona is playing is a pretty good indication. It's not like the whole franchise is in disarray, we're just seeing the repercussions of making a bad trade for a quarterback a couple years down the line. You might be able to say trading for Kolb was a fireable offense, but was Brian Billick a bad coach because he never found a franchise QB? I think like Billick, Whisenhunt is a good coach who's made some mistakes with the most visible position on his team. I mean, look at Arizona's defense. They have a really terrific defense. It's not like they're really missing DRC, they just didn't get what they hoped for when they traded him away.

It's also worth mentioning that the Kolb-led Cardinals were 4-1 through week 5, then lost the game to Buffalo by a field goal after Kolb was knocked out, and have not won a game since. So even if Kolb is not a great quarterback, he was serviceable. The team is clearly better with him than without him, just in terms of who else is on that roster. They haven't scored 20 points in a game since they lost him after scoring 20+ in each of their first 4.

Going for the triple-post for clarity: Not saying that I think trading for Kolb was a fireable offense, given the second post that I made, but that I can understand where people are coming from when they say it. I just think it's reactionary. Kolb was also sacked 17 times in the two games before Buffalo, and took another 5 in that game before going to the locker room. That is a lot.

The word out of Miami is that they will let him walk if he wants too much cash. He hasn't played that great this year.

Probably a contract ploy and nothing more. Buffalo, with its cheap owner, is the only team I know that has given up on a very solid LT, Jason Peters and they have paid dearly for that decision.
LT is next to a QB as a priority on an offense in the NFL and teams simply don't put themselves in a spot of creating a hole at that position by allowing a LT to enter FA. Only LT's who enter FA either stink or are very late in their careers or have serious injury histories.